02
May
Sixteen EU countries trigger ‘escape clause’ for defence spending
On Wednesday, 30 April, sixteen European Union member states announced their intention to use the ‘national escape clause’ – a special budget flexibility rule- to ramp up defence spending prompted by Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and the heightened security threat across Europe, these countries are seeking permission to invest more in their military capabilities without immediately breaching the EU’s strict fiscal guidelines.
On the same day, the European Commission announced that it had already received formal...